Brussels, 9 March 2009 - The Commission has taken a humanitarian decision for €700,000 to provide assistance to communities affected by floods in Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. More than 50,000 people will benefit from this decision. There will be a particular focus on actions to treat and prevent the spread of waterborne diseases. The funds are managed by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department under the responsibility of Commissioner Louis Michel.

Beginning in early December 2008, a combination of exceptionally high tides and tropical depressions led to serious coastal flooding in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Latest reports are that an estimated 40,000 people are affected. A few weeks later, prolonged heavy rainfall brought flooding to Fiji where 11 people died and 10,000 were displaced. A high risk of outbreak of diseases such as dengue, typhoid and leptostripirosis was identified. At the end of January, heavy floods struck the Solomon Islands, especially the islands of Guadalcanal and Savo, resulting in 10 deaths and causing substantial damage in a number of villages. Up to 40,000 people living in the worst-affected areas require assistance.

A Commission humanitarian expert has visited the region and the most urgent needs have been identified. The main components covered by the decision will be:

- provision of clean drinking water, containers, tanks, filters and purification tablets;

- rehabilitation of water and sewerage systems;

- hygiene interventions;

- supply of blankets, clothing, mosquito nets and plastic sheeting for temporary shelters.

- health actions designed to treat and prevent outbreaks of diarrhoea, respiratory infection, malaria and dengue fever.

A child is reportedly missing in the Papua New Guinea highlands following a major landslip that has left up to 1,000 people homeless.

The landslide, in PNG's Enga province, has forced a river to change its course and destroyed an entire village.

It has also cut off access to the Porgera gold mine in the province.

Disaster officials are assessing the damage.

Last week, a similar landslip in the eastern highlands killed seven people.

Authorities are warning heavy rains will continue that could cause more landslips and flooding.

Sam Seke

Landslides and floods have destroyed food gardens and cash crops in the northern Papua New Guinea coastal province of Madang.

Local government member for Almami, Robert Utukai, has told Radio Australia's Pacific Beat program the damage occurred in the Bogia district, after almost a week of heavy rain.

The livelihood of about 140 families is affected and local infrastructure has been destroyed.

No deaths have been reported and homes have been largely spared in the flooding and landslips, but authorities say the affected communities have lost their source of food and income and need help.

The Madang Provincial Disaster Management Office says it will send officers to assess the situation.

This report covers the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008

In brief

Summary:

The International Federation's Pacific regional office continues to provide essential support to the region in disaster management, health and care and organizational development. A regional partnership meeting was held in Vanuatu in April 2008 with all operating and partner national societies to determine regional directions and identify priority support areas from the national society perspective.

Key achievements in disaster management in 2008 include the first regional disaster response team training organized and carried out in the Pacific, strengthening the response capacity of the Red Cross in the region to future disasters. In addition, disaster management activities continue to be carried out with National Societies including Tuvalu, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga and Kiribati Islands, contributing towards increased awareness in disaster risk reduction and, in the Cook Islands, assistance to communities to address challenges identified in community assessments. The Red Cross activities highlight low cost actions that communities can take to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change. Cooperation between National Societies also continues to take place, fully utilizing technical expertise and best practices available in the region. The regional office also continued to provide support to the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea Red Cross societies to respond to ongoing disaster operations in the respective countries.

In health and care, the Pacific component of the International Federation's HIV Global Alliance was launched successfully with four National Societies - Kiribati, the Federated States of Micronesia, Samoa and Cook Islands-- joining in as members. Other achievements include the successful facilitation of a regional community-based health and first aid workshop in March, the second of its kind globally, which introduced the participants to the new 'community-based first aid in action' process, in particular the new volunteer's manual. Also, the International Federation and the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation (PIAF) signed a memorandum of understanding which reaffirms the International Federation's commitment to work with people living with HIV as an integral component of its HIV response, and for both organizations to share resources and support each other while jointly responding to HIV in the region.

Under the organizational development programme, the regional office provided support in the different stages of revision and implementation of statutes with Palau, Kiribati and Fiji Red Cross Societies. The Federated States of Micronesia Red Cross Society has completed a draft five-year strategic plan as well as an action plan for 2009, and the other national societies have outlined their intent to instigate a revision of their respective plans. National society newsletters continue to be circulated within the region, and Pacific national societies renewed their commitment toward peer support among themselves to increase capacity and mutual support throughout the Pacific at the partnership meeting in April. Concurrently, the regional office strengthened its ties with the other regions in the Asia Pacific through the International Federation's Asia Pacific zone office to improve opportunities for support to national societies.

Financial situation: The total 2008 budget was revised down from CHF 3,603,911 (USD 3.17 million or EUR 2.39 million) to CHF 2,614,539 (USD 2.3 million or EUR 1.73 million). The revised budget is 64 per cent covered. Expenditure overall was 69 per cent of available income. The budget revision, which took place in December, is a result of the Papua New Guinea appeal which was absorbed into the Pacific regional appeal. Taking into consideration the allocated timeframe in which the country office in Papua New Guinea was still operational, the original budget allocated to Papua New Guinea was revised down from CHF 1,203,563 to CHF 214,181, resulting in the new overall budget reflected in the financial report attached.

No. of people we help: The Pacific regional office supports a total of 14 national societies in the region.

Our partners: During this reporting period, the regional office worked with the 14 national societies in the region, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in two countries, the whole United Nations (UN) family based in Suva as well as national and regional organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the Pacific Island AIDS Foundation (PIAF), the Secretariat of Pacific Communities (SPC), the Asia Foundation/ office of U.S. foreign disaster assistance (TAF/OFDA), AusAID and NZAID. Additional support from within the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement include the American, Australian, French, Japanese, New Zealand and Netherlands Red Cross Societies.

The International Federation, on behalf of the national societies in the Pacific region, would like to thank the abovementioned partners for their generous support

BANGKOK, 15 May 2009 (IRIN) - A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team has concluded a two-week disaster preparedness mission to Papua New Guinea (PNG).

"The mission is important to the government as it will independently review the ongoing efforts of the proposed new arrangement of managing disasters in future," Vini Talai, humanitarian affairs analyst for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told IRIN on 15 May, from Port Moresby, the capital.

The mission included five other provinces: Bougainville, East New Britain, Eastern Highlands, Morobe and Northern.

"The provinces were selected by the National Disaster Centre from the four different regions of PNG and on the basis that they are all disaster provinces," Talai explained.

One of the most disaster prone-countries in the region, PNG is prone to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, drought, tropical cyclones, floods and landslides.

In addition, the country has experienced man-made disasters such as oil spills, industrial pollution, unregulated land use, environment degradation caused by development activities and population movements.

ds/mw

This report covers the period 1 January 2009 to 30 June 2009.

In brief

Programme summary:

The Pacific regional office works with and supports a total of 12 national societies and two in formation in the region, including Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati Islands, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

In this reporting period, the regional office continues to engage with national societies in the region on disaster management, health and care as well as organizational development to support the most vulnerable in the region.

National society reports indicate that collectively, Red Cross emergency operations in the region have, so far, enabled a total of 5,880 vulnerable families (29,390 vulnerable women, men, girls and boys) to transcend immediate distress and start to rebuild their lives after disaster. Additional assistance to Pacific national societies, including the maintenance, repair, stocking, and in some cases, replacement of the container in its entirety, was made possible with the support of the International Federation and Australia, Japanese and New Zealand Red Cross. In this reporting period, successful efforts have been made to repair and re-stock containers in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Disaster risk reduction projects were also conducted in Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga.

The international disaster response laws, rules and principles (IDRL) delegate arrived in Suva in January and has, in the initial months of the IDRL Pacific programme, focused on advocacy and dissemination of the IDRL guidelines, and initial preparations for regional- and national-level IDRL training to be conducted this year.

In health and care, Global Alliance on HIV members including Kiribati, Cook Islands, Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia continue to work with youths and communities in raising awareness and sensitization to HIV. A seven-day Pacific regional training workshop on project planning, monitoring and evaluation was held in Suva in February with participants from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu Red Cross. To address the recent outbreak and escalation of A (H1N1) on a global level, the regional health delegate prepared and shared with all the Pacific national societies materials to provide rapid orientation for the staff and volunteers in the national societies on A (H1N1) and how to plan for responding to the pandemic.

In organizational development, there continues to be healthy and mutual support between all national societies in the region on a range of issues including fundraising initiatives, constitution revision and strategic planning. In addition, Tonga, Samoa and Solomon Islands resubmitted their specific organizational development support (SoS) applications in February and were approved in May 2009, and the Asia Pacific zone volunteering development manager will be supporting them in the coming months with this initiative.

Financial situation: The total 2009 budget is CHF 1,988,504 (USD 1.82 million or EUR 1.3 million), revised down from the original budget of CHF 2,307,203 (USD 2.11 million or EUR 1.51 million). The plan is 76 per cent covered to date. Expenditure from January to May 2009 is 20 per cent of the total 2009 budget.

See also:

Solomon Islands: Earthquake and tsunami (MDRSB001), Final Report

Papua New Guinea: Cyclone Guba (MDRPG002), Final Report

Papua New Guinea: Floods (MDRPG003), DREF operation update no. 1

Cook Islands: Dengue outbreak (MDRCK001), DREF operation

No. of people we help: The Pacific regional office supports a total of 14 national societies in the region.

Our partners: During this reporting period, the regional office worked with the 14 national societies in the region, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the whole United Nations (UN) family based in Suva as well as national and regional organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), the Pacific Island AIDS Foundation (PIAF), the Secretariat of Pacific Communities (SPC), the Asia Foundation/ office of U.S. foreign disaster assistance (TAF/OFDA), AusAID and NZAID. The Pacific appeal is supported by Australian Red Cross/ Australian government, Canadian Red Cross/ Canadian government, Red Cross Society of China/ Chinese government, Japanese Red Cross, Norwegian Red Cross/ Norwegian government and the Spanish Red Cross. Funding support was also provided by the Global Fund from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Israel government.

The International Federation, on behalf of the national societies in the Pacific region, would like to thank the abovementioned partners and donors for their generous support.

New report on climate change impacts in the Pacific highlights need for action now

An Oxfam report published today highlights that Pacific Islanders are already feeling the effects of climate change and need greater support to address the dramatic effects in the region.

The Future is Here: climate change in the Pacific documents how people are facing increasing food and water shortages, dealing with rising cases of malaria, coping with more frequent flooding and storm surges, losing land and being forced from their homes. The report argues that unless wealthy, developed countries like New Zealand and Australia take urgent action to curb emissions, some island nations face the very real threat of becoming uninhabitable.

Pacific leaders will raise the issue of climate change with Prime Minister John Key at the Pacific Islands Forum from August 4-7.

Oxfam New Zealand Executive Director Barry Coates said with only months to go until the crucial UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December, it was clear New Zealand needed to show Pacific leaders it was willing to do its fair share to address one of the most pressing challenges in the region.

"Climate change has the potential to affect almost every issue linked to poverty and development in the Pacific. Without immediate action 50 years of development gains in poor countries will be permanently lost," said Coates. "It's important for the Government to show its neighbours at the Pacific Islands Forum that New Zealand is serious about our responsibility for climate change and our commitment to help vulnerable communities deal with it," he added.

The report details how Pacific Islanders are already adapting to their changing climate. Fijians, for example, are taking steps to 'climate-proof' their villages by trialling salt-resistant varieties of staple foods, planting mangroves and native grasses to halt coastal erosion, protecting fresh water wells from saltwater intrusion and relocating homes and community buildings away from vulnerable coastlines.

Elsewhere, the Malaita provincial government in the Solomon Islands is looking for land to resettle people from low-lying outer atolls, while people living in the Federated States of Micronesia are facing food and water shortages and moving to higher ground.

The report argues that the fairest and most cost-effective way of dealing with climate change is to ensure the most extreme impacts are avoided altogether. As the two wealthy countries in the region with high per capita pollution, New Zealand and Australia must prevent further climate damage to the Pacific by adopting a strong mid-term target for greenhouse gas reductions - at least 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 - and urging other developed countries to do the same.

"The lives, homes, livelihoods, food and water of many Pacific communities are under threat. These people have done almost nothing to cause the climate crisis. New Zealand has a responsibility to act now by reducing our own emissions, helping our neighbours adapt to the climate change impacts they are already experiencing, and supporting their development on a low-carbon pathway.

Not only is it in our best interests, it will help create a safer, more sustainable and more peaceful future for the Pacific," said Coates.

Government must listen to Pacific leaders on trade and climate change

Trade negotiations between Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Pacific leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns this week must not plunge Pacific people already hit by the economic crisis, food crisis and climate change further into poverty, says leading international aid agency Oxfam.

With overall growth in the Pacific expected to slow, and falls in tourism, remittances and exports resulting from the global financial crisis likely to hit hard, any new trade arrangements must prioritise development to truly benefit Pacific nations, says Oxfam Australia Executive Director Andrew Hewett (who will be in Cairns).

Negotiations for a new free trade agreement, the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations, known as 'PACER Plus', between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, are on the agenda this week.

"Trade can be critical in helping lift people out of poverty, but the proposed rapid trade liberalisation in Pacific Island countries runs the risk of undermining development rather than enhancing it," Mr Hewett said.

"Concerns for Pacific nations include potential loss of small businesses and jobs, as local firms are placed in direct competition with better-resourced Australian companies; loss of government revenue through removal of tariffs and import duties - leading to cuts to health and education services; threats to agriculture from loss of tariffs on food imports, and lack of capacity to monitor and control the timing and process of the negotiations."

He said Pacific Island countries were already negotiating a number of trade agreements and initiatives with other countries, and needed time to consider all the implications of a PACER Plus agreement with Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Hewett said new Oxfam research suggested viable alternatives to PACER Plus, including an economic cooperation agreement with the Pacific's development at its core.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Islands Forum is an opportunity for the Government to join with Pacific leaders in their call for urgent action on climate change to prevent further damage in the region.

Mr Hewett said climate change was contributing to increasing food and water shortages, people losing their land and being forced from their homes, rising cases of malaria, and more frequent flooding and storm surges.

"For people in the Pacific, climate change is a reality now," Mr Hewett said. "The Australian Government must begin a real process of partnership with Pacific Island countries in finding ways to prevent further climate change, adapt where possible, and prepare for and assist with the resettlement of Pacific Island people who will be displaced by global warming.

He said the Government's commitment of $150 million to help Pacific Islanders adapt to climate change needed to be at least doubled to meet the most urgent adaptation needs in the Pacific. This must be in addition to Australia's existing aid commitments so that crucial poverty alleviation efforts were not compromised.

Please contact Laurelle Keough (0409 960 100, laurellek@oxfam.org.au) for interviews or briefings with Oxfam Australia Executive Director Andrew Hewett or Economic Justice Coordinator Kelly Dent.

The failure of the Pacific Islands Forum to match Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's ambitious rhetoric with meaningful action on climate change will spell further disaster for the Pacific's small island states already suffering the impacts of rising sea levels and more frequent cylones and storms, international aid agency Oxfam Australia said today.

Oxfam Australia spokesperson Kelly Dent, in Cairns during the Pacific Islands Forum, said people in the Pacific had lost an opportunity for crucial support to tackle the escalating effects of climate change.

"The Forum leaders encouragingly stated they would garner international support for a good outcome at the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December," Ms Dent said.

"However, a good outcome will only be achieved if developed countries like Australia cut their collective emissions by 40 per cent and commit to funding to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

"Instead, the announcement of a call for a global emissions reduction target of 50 per cent by 2050 does not reflect the urgent action the science says is needed to prevent catastrophic climate change.

"By then, the people of Kiribati may well be swimming. By contrast, the G8 leaders recently agreed to 80 per cent global emissions reductions by 2050."

Ms Dent said Australia needed to adopt a short-term emissions reduction target of 40 per cent by 2020 and commit new money to help Pacific Island peoples adapt to climate change.

She said it was disappointing that Australia had not committed any new money to help Pacific Island peoples adapt.

The current $150 million, committed in the lead-up to the 2007 election, must be at least doubled simply to meet the urgent most adaptation needs in the region.

Ms Dent said the Forum decision to press forward with negotiations on a new free trade agreement between Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific nations, PACER Plus (the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations), was disappointing.

"Trade negotiations are being pushed ahead despite Pacific leaders requesting time and resources to consult with businesses and communities on the likely impact of trade liberalisation on Pacific economies," Ms Dent said.

"Trade can be critical in helping lift people out of poverty, but what is on the table for negotiation runs the risk of undermining development rather than enhancing it, and adversely affecting generations to come."

Oxfam welcomed the Forum's commitment to eradicate sexual and gender-based violence in the region, support for implementing the global Program of Action on small arms and light weapons and the announcement of a new development compact based on a 'revitalised commitment' to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

For more information or interviews, please contact Laurelle Keough on 0409 960 100

GLIDE n=B0 FL-2008-00243-PNG

The International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) is a source of un-earmarked money created by the Federation in 1985 to ensure that immediate financial support is available for Red Cross Red Crescent response to emergencies. The DREF is a vital part of the International Federation's disaster response system and increases the ability of National Societies to respond to disasters.

Summary:

CHF 190,000 (USD 165,000 or EUR 120,360) was allocated from the International Federation's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) on 15 December 2008 to support Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society in delivering assistance to approximately 15,450 beneficiaries, and to replenish disaster preparedness stocks.

Abnormally high sea levels resulted in severe floods in Papua New Guinea in December 2008. The Papua New Guinea Red Cross (PNGRC), with support from the International Federation and partner national societies, responded to the disaster and assisted communities affected with non-food relief items including tarpaulins, mosquito nets and water containers, among others.

The floods as a result of the sea swells was also used as an opportunity to build the capacity of the national society, its branches and communities to be better prepared for future disasters. As part of lessons learnt and improved disaster preparedness, agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed or are in progress with numerous partners and services which include logistics, customs and secure and sheltered space for relief containers as well as information-sharing, access to provincial radio frequencies and transportation for goods and people.

The timely and effective response from PNGRC at branch and headquarters levels is a significant achievement given that this is the first time all eight provinces in the country were affected simultaneously. The PNGRC successfully mobilized up to 200 volunteers throughout the operation and delivered support to a total of 16,790 people, above the initial target of 15,450 beneficiaries.

An unspent balance of CHF 10,897 was returned to DREF. This Final Report is complete with regards to the implementation of activities.

The major donors and partners of the DREF include the Danish Red Cross, Irish Red Cross/ Irish government, Japanese Red Cross, Monaco Red Cross/ Monaco government, Netherlands Red Cross/ Netherlands government, Norwegian Red Cross/ Norwegian government, Swedish Red Cross/ Swedish government, Italian government, United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), ECHO, OPEC Fund for International Development, and corporate and private donors. The International Federation, on behalf of the Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society, would like to thank all donors for their generous contributions.

In the framework of the European Union–funded Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP) project, this national assessment brings together existing evidence on the migration, environment and climate change nexus in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The report provides a review of environmental migration materialized in local realities and compiles data from a wide variety of sources, including government policy documents, academic research, working papers and other publications and research carried out by national and international organizations, NGOs and research institutions.

The aim of the report is twofold. First, it provides an overview of PNG’s exposure to environmental and climatic changes, as well as the factors influencing human vulnerability. It maps the complex relationship between migration, environment and climate change, and particularly looks at two case studies of Carteret Islanders and people displaced by the volcanic eruption in Manam Island since 2004. Second, it examines the existing policy frameworks and offers guidance to integrate environmental migration in PNG’s national planning. An outline of the developmental achievements and challenges, and an in-depth exploration of the role of the environment and climate change in shaping the country’s long-term migration dynamics are provided to this end. Based on the review of the existing policy framework and the key findings, the report offers a “policy toolkit” with suggestions of policy options and identified priorities.